Jordan “Showtime” Lucas is ready to bring his thrilling fighting style back to the ONE Championship cage, except this time he will be competing in his natural weight class.
After debuting at featherweight this past May, the Australian dynamo is dropping back down to bantamweight and looks to light up the 65.8kg talent pool on his way towards a title shot.
He plans to kickstart his campaign on Sunday Night, 7 October, when he battles Yusup “Maestro” Saadulaev at ONE: STATE OF WARRIORS at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium in Yangon, Myanmar.
“I’m preparing for a war and for the best Yusup there has ever been,” the 22-year-old says. “I’m not taking this fight lightly. I respect everyone I fight, but I am coming for it. I’m a tough fight for anyone in this division and, if he undermines what I’m bringing, it will be a long night for him.”
Lucas brings an incredible pedigree to the forefront. He is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt under Carlson Gracie Jr., an IKBF Victorian State Muay Thai Champion, and represented his home nation in the 2013 World Combat Sambo Championship.
That impeccable versatility constantly makes him a threat at any time during an MMA contest, but that’s to be expected nowadays. After all, the Aussie is part of a generation that not only has embraced multiple facets of mixed martial arts, but has achieved legitimate success in all of those different fighting disciplines.
“It’s definitely the new breed of fighter you see with young guys these days,” he says. “It’s rare now [when] you see a young guy just with one discipline. Most guys start out learning everything, which leads to the more all-rounded style where it less matters [about] where the fight goes as we are strong everywhere.
“I think it separates me from a lot of the older guys in the division,” he continues. “They seem to stick to their strong points and can only win fights in that sort of fashion. I think the main thing that separates us is it’s a more exciting style of fighting to watch, the fights can be finished anywhere, and you always see a better and more exciting display of martial arts.”
That style-blending has paid Lucas dividends. Ever since making his MMA debut in 2012, the Melbourne, Australia-based bantamweight racked up eight consecutive victories, four of which came via first-round submission and two by first-round TKO. He also took home the BRACE Bantamweight Championship Title by defeating blue-chip prospect Stephen Reeks.
For the man known as “Showtime,” he lived up to his nickname by treating every single battle as if it were do or die — not just the BRACE title fight.
“Fighting in the Aussie scene was good. I fought on all the best shows and took out some big names in the local scene, so to be so young coming up and seeing the hard work pay off with each fight was a good thing,” he says. “I treated the championship fight like any other fight I had been in. Really, I treat every fight like a championship fight. It looks good on the resume and is a memorable moment for sure, but there’s always more work to put in and bigger things to achieve.”
In January 2015, he officially signed a six-fight contract with ONE Championship. He actually moved up to featherweight for his long-awaited and highly-anticipated promotional debut against Edward Kelly at ONE: UNION OF WARRIORS in March 2016.
Lucas dominated the match from the very beginning, as he threw a pair of leg kicks and feigned with a right cross to set up the takedown. He controlled the action on the canvas and came close to ending the bout a handful of times with a few rear-naked choke attempts and aggressive ground and pound. But Kelly would stuff his last takedown and worked a rear-naked coke in from the side position, before sliding partially onto his back to submit him in the opening stanza.
Despite being under an immense amount of pressure and fighting under the big lights for the very first time, “Showtime” doesn’t make any excuses.
“The fight was going well. I simply just took a sloppy shot, and Edward took his opportunity and capitalized on it,” the Aussie recalls. “It’s a game of inches. There’s a lot of things that can come into play with a loss, but it’s best just taking it like a man and moving on. You win or you learn, and on that night, I learned.”
Not one to dwell on the past, he returned to the gym and, recently, made some big changes. He quit his job two months ago, focused on training full-time with his Team Nemesis brethren, and decided to drop down to bantamweight, a division where he had his best success yet.
With everything set in place, he is determined not to experience the same fate against his upcoming opponent, Yusup Saadulaev.
Saadulaev, a former TFC Featherweight Champion who is versed in Muay Thai and holds a BJJ black belt under longtime trainer, Christian Uflacker, has a respectable 14-4-1 record. Some of his most notable wins are over the likes of Dennis Kang and Team Lakay’s Kevin Belingon, who will also be appearing on the Myanmar card.
The 31-year-old Russian combatant, who represents both the Krepost Fight Club and Uflacker Academy, is currently riding a three-fight win streak with two of his last victories ending via submission.
While Lucas admires his competitor’s skills and accomplishments, he intends to dictate the pace of the bout and impose his will.
“Yusup is a world-class opponent. He deserves my respect, and anyone that has seen my training for this camp knows that it’s the best I’ve ever looked, especially coming back down to bantamweight,” the Australian says. “I plan to be better everywhere on the night. I focus more on myself and my own training rather than what he’s going to do. I know Yusup’s style of fighting and on the night, I will be prepared for what he’s bringing.”
For Lucas, this fight is extra crucial. He is attempting to bounce back from his first career loss and is giving himself the best opportunity to do so. The Aussie is back in his bantamweight home, he is training diligently, and he has already gotten past the first-time jitters new fighters could experience inside the ONE Championship cage.
Now refreshed, he is ready to take the next step. “I’m looking forward to being back under the bright lights. The bigger the stage and the better the opponent just makes it more exciting for me,” he explains. “I’m hungry for this win, and I’m looking forward to being back and putting on a show for all the fans in Myanmar. It’s a rowdy crowd. It’s going to come down to who’s worked harder and who wants it more.
“It’s definitely not going to the score cards.”
